Some Of My Own Ornaments

This lovely snowman from my Rav swap partner has joined the Christmas memories on my tree.

You can see several of my own hand-knitted ornaments, too. Like this bell.

I made it several years ago, so I don't remember which pattern I used. I'm pretty sure you can find one like it on the internet, though. It's done with short rows and each bell takes about half an hour to complete. I put a jingle bell inside this one, which was probably a mistake, since it now bears strong resemblance to a cat toy.

Or you can make one of these from this pattern.

These lace ornaments are not an original idea. I don't really have a pattern for them, but I will tell you exactly how they are made.

This one is a garter stitch square. I cast on about 15 stitches on a largish needle with crochet cotton and knitted a square. Bind off. Put a glass ornament inside and draw the square up around it, stretching the stitches a bit. Thread some ribbon through the top and tie in as fancy a bow as you like.
This one is a drop stitch ornament. Three rows knit all stitches; one row K1, *YO, K1; next row knit, but drop all the YOs. Repeat this pattern until the piece is long enough to cover your ornament with a little left at the top and bottom.

The construction's a little different, too. It's knitted flat, then seamed into a tube. I threaded ribbon through the top and the bottom and tied a bow at each end.

These lace ornaments are fun and quick and highly customizable. They're also a great way to give life to some ornaments that may be looking a little old.